The present invention is a tool for developing embedded systems hardware. When hardware and software are developed for an embedded system, typically the hardware is specified and designed, and then the software is written to control the hardware. In some cases, the hardware and software are specified and designed in parallel, with trade-offs occurring as needed during the process. However, the software that runs the system can be considered a specification for the system itself. For example, if the software includes a driver for a UART, a UART must be designed into the hardware. If the software has a timer interrupt task, the hardware must provide a timer. If the software application needs to transmit and receive Ethernet data, the hardware must provide an Ethernet interface. Ideally, the software functionality would be determined first and the hardware would be designed to accommodate the software.